Guram is 33 years old and lives in Batumi. By profession, he is a Senior Software Engineering Manager at EPAM Systems. Guram attended a seminar at the Leo Institute for the first time two years ago. As he puts it, it was “one of the most wonderful experiences.” After which, he chose to continue his journey with the Leo Institute, and he is now enrolled in the Leo Academy’s one-year program. In this blog post, Guram shares his personal experience with the process of self-development.
What does self-mastery mean to you and why did you decide to begin this process?
For me, self-mastery is the ability to decide for yourself how to feel. It’s about choosing what your inner state should be and not allow yourself to depend on external factors.
I decided to “step into” this process 2 years ago, after I had a wonderful experience and got a taste of this matter.
When you experience something delightful once and enjoy it, you yearn to savor that sweetness again. The same happened in my case.
The main epiphany came when I realized that my actions, which I believed were directed towards a particular goal, were actually producing the exact opposite result. And most significantly, I was constantly in this process.
What changes started unfolding in your life after attending the seminars?
Whether you’ve attended the seminars or not, I believe that all of us, as human beings, strive for well-being and happiness. The seminars simply helped me find and provided me with extra tools to more effectively implement the changes I desired in my life.
Imagine you’re trying to slice a cucumber using your fingernails, even though there’s a cucumber slicer right beside you.
After the seminar, I began using this tool to “slice the cucumber.” It greatly improved performance and efficiency 🙂
What was your primary discovery and realization from the seminars?
The main epiphany came when I realized that my actions, which I believed were directed towards a particular goal, were actually producing the exact opposite result. And most significantly, I was constantly in this process.
The seminars showed me this in a holistic way, which had a huge wow effect.
The seminar is a personal experience within a group setting. In your opinion, what role does the group context of these seminars play?
In my view, this format speeds up the process of individual unveiling and assists in first recognizing, and then reducing, the internal resistance that hinders us from perceiving reality as it truly is.
